People in the United States are obsessed with dieting and body size. That may be due to the fact that 40.3% of adults have obesity today, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The weight loss industry likely contributes to these twin obsessions, as the global weight loss and diet management market size was worth about $143 billion in 2022, and is projected to soar to roughly $299 billion by 2030 . And with more than 15 million Americans now losing weight with GLP-1 drugs that were originally created to treat Type 2 diabetes, there is even more emphasis on weight.

Yet if the goal is improving your health and longevity, experts say your attention should be on fitness, not the numbers on the scale or the image you see in the mirror.

"We know so many ways t

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